I Like You
by Kalow
Summary: Toushiro Hitsugaya is a sad and lonely kid, until those three words change his life. HitsuHina.
1. Chapter 1

Title: I Like You

Summary: Toushiro Hitsugaya is a lonely, sad kid until those three words change his life

Explanation: So we've all seen High School FanFics, but I haven't really seen any elementary school Fanfics, so I decided to make one. Heavily based on my own experiences in elementary school. Since they will be represented as little kids, people will be a bit out of character, but I'll do my best to minimize that.

I do not own Bleach

**I like You**

Chapter 1

Toushiro Hitsugaya sat alone at a lunch table. He was eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Usually he liked PB&J, but the jelly had soaked into the bread, making it all weird. He looked around for his best (and only) friend, Renji Abarai. He sighed; Renji wasn't here today.

Toushiro was in first grade. He had never been very sociable. He preferred thinking to talking, and Renji was the only person that he really felt comfortable having a conversation with. Renji was of a much different personality, but the two were undeniably close friends. Unfortunately, Renji wasn't in his class this year. He only got to see him at lunch and recess.

As Toushiro had nobody to talk to, he spent most of his time studying and reading. Toushiro had always been smart, in fact just a few weeks earlier he had completely read the book Robinson Crusoe (AN: I really did read that in first grade). The teacher was amazed, but to him it seemed like no big deal.

Toushiro was quiet by nature. He didn't just go up and talk to people. This rather cold exterior caused most people to avoid him. The ones that didn't avoid him would pick on him and tease him. They would knock his things over and step on his toes. They would push him down and pinch him. Sometimes they would just tease him, but that hurt almost as badly. Toushiro rarely stood up for himself, he would just get up after being picked on and go back to what he was doing. Renji was much more assertive and would help him with these bullies, but Renji wasn't in his class so he usually wasn't there to help him.

After Toushiro finished his mediocre lunch, he went outside for recess. If he were given the choice, he would rather just stay inside and read. It was October, but the weather outside was warm. That was just wrong. This time of year was supposed to be pleasantly chilly, but instead it was warm. The trees hadn't even lost their leaves yet. Toushiro hated warm weather. He preferred either cool, moist weather or chilly weather, but hot weather was unbearable.

Toushiro walked over to the playfort. It was a large wooden structure with monkey bars, a slide, a rope net one could use to climb up the side, and fireman pole. It was quite popular and many kids played on it. Toushiro wasn't going to play on it though. He went in the area underneath it, and squeezed into the small space under the stairs. It was shaded and the cool sand felt nice. Many kids went underneath here, either for the shade or as a shortcut to the other side of the playfort, but nobody ever noticed him. It was restful to be able to hide down there undisturbed. He continued to lie down there until the bell rang, signaling that it was time to return to class.

Toushiro sighed and got out from under the playfort, brushing the sand off of himself. He went back inside and back to his class. He sat down in his desk next to the window. He wished that he sat somewhere else, the light from outside was irritating.

The teacher began her lesson. It was about basic addition. She spent a long time explaining it, but Toushiro already knew how to do this. He ended up just staring out the window, even though the light bugged him. There was nothing else to do.

Finally, the teacher finished talking. She handed out worksheets with addition problems. She then turned off the lights and partially closed the blinds. The outside light was still coming in, but it was no longer in his eyes and the room was darker now. This made him in a much better mood.

Toushiro looked down at the math problems. They were extremely easy, all single digit numbers. He finished the entire sheet in two minutes. He knew that there was still about 20 minutes left before the work time would be over. Everyone else was still working. He sighed and leaned back in his chair to rest for a minute.

As he leaned back, Toushiro noticed that there was someone standing over him. He turned around to see who it was. There was a girl standing next to him. She had dark brown hair and soft brown eyes. He recognized her as Momo Hinamori. She was smiling at him.

"Toushiro, I like you."

Thanks for reading. I'd like to note that the above scene actually happened. Please review.


	2. Chapter 2

Authors Note: Remember, the characters are about 6 years old, so when you're imagining them, remember that they don't look like they do in the series (they're much cuter!).

I do not own Bleach

**I Like You**

Chapter 2

Toushiro blinked. I like you? What did that mean? Toushiro felt butterflies in his stomach and he suddenly felt out of breath. Momo was standing in front of him, nervously fidgeting her hands. He managed to give her a small smile. He tried to say something but the words seemed to stick in his throat. He ended up simply giving her a nod while smiling.

Momo smiled back at him and nervously backed away, returning to her seat. Toushiro watched her. He wasn't sure what to think. His mind was buzzing blankly. She liked him… what did that mean? He felt funny, as if he were being tickled from the inside. He looked over at Momo, gazing at her lovely chocolate brown hair. He leaned back in his seat; he would need to think about this.

Momo walked back to her desk, a big smile on her face. She had finally told Toushiro how she felt about him. She didn't remember how long she had felt this way, only that she did. She had admired his cute face and brilliant blue-green eyes for a long time. She loved how smart he was. He was the only person in the class other than her who had already completed the worksheet that the class was doing. She hated to see the way others picked on him. Whenever she saw someone teasing him, it took all of her self-restraint to keep herself from running over and pounding their faces into the ground. She loved Toushiro. She really did.

Momo Glanced out of the corner of her eye at Toushiro. He was looking at her! She was so happy right now it felt as if there were butterflies fluttering around her stomach. She smiled and giggled silently to herself.

Toushiro sat in his desk, thinking of Momo. He had seen her many times in class, but as he thought back to it, he remembered things that he had not noticed before. He remembered how she always had a huge smile on her face. He thought of her laugh. He realized that he loved her. That was the only explanation for these feelings. He smiled to himself. He felt sort of tingly at the realization. He loved Momo. His heart began to beat faster. He felt rather giddy. For the first time in a long while, he was really happy.

Later that day, during free time, Toushiro walked up to Momo. He needed to tell her how he felt towards her.

"Momo, I like you too." He said.

A huge smile appeared across Momo's face. It seemed to brighten the room; and not the way the sun did, constantly getting in his eyes, but seeming to radiate off of her, bringing happiness and making the whole world seem like a much nicer place. Her beautiful brown eyes sparkled, a few tears of happiness coming to them. She abruptly pulled Toushiro into a big hug, nestling his face in her lovely chocolate brown hair. Toushiro blushed and hugged her back.

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Thanks for reading! Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! I know this chapter and the previous chapter were rather short, but they will become progressively longer. Please review! 


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update. I'd like to give a special, super huge thanks to Animeimaginationgrl. Her excellent review has inspired me to begin writing this story again. I was considering discontinuing it, but she has convinced me otherwise.

I've made Karin his (my) little sister. This is usefully since a lot of HitsuHina fans hate Karin and I'm not too fond of my sister. I've also made Unohana as his mother; his father won't really be featured. He will refer to her as Retsu, since I've been calling my parents by name since age four. Remember that the characters are six years old, so they are super, super cute.

I do not own bleach

**I Like You**

Chapter 3

Tousiro rode the bus home from school that day with a huge smile on his face. He hummed to himself as he got off the bus and walked down the sidewalk to his house. His mother was standing in front to greet him, the same as always. She smiled at him.

"Good afternoon Toushiro. How was your day at school?" She said to him.

"Today was excellent, Retsu." Toushiro said with a smile. Retsu smiled; she was used to her son coming home sad and depressed, she was glad that he was feeling good today.

Retsu opened the door and ushered Toushiro inside. He walked quietly down the hallway, careful not to wake up Karin. Karin was only a year younger than he was, but if she was woken up during her afternoon nap, she would throw a fit like a baby. He was able to pass her room without incident and he lied down on his bed.

He thought about what Momo had said to him. He still felt giddy from the experience. He thought of her bright, happy face. Her chocolate brown hair. Her sweet and kind brown eyes. Thinking of her made him feel happy. He felt those familiar butterflies in his stomache, fluttering around and causing him to laugh silently to himself. He tried to read his books, but all he could think about was Momo's bright smiling face. Eventually he gave up and just laid there until dinner time.

For dinner, his mother had prepared spaghetti. Toushiro didn't really like spaghetti, but Karin ate hers with great speed, gobbling up an entire plate in just a few minutes. Toushiro turned his attention to his spaghetti and ate it slowly. After dinner he went straight to bed, where he dreamed about Momo all night long.

The next day at school, Toushiro walked into his classroom and found Momo staring at him, a big grin on her face.

"Hi Toushiro," she said, "I couldn't sleep at all last night because I kept thinking about you."

Toushiro blushed at her comment. He felt short of breath as his heart began to beat faster and a lump formed in his throat, but he was able to say, "I had trouble sleeping last night too. All I could think of was you." Momo continued to smile.

"Come on, lets go play," she said, grabbing his arm and dragging him over to the other side of the classroom. They sat down and Momo took out a bag of clear pieces of colored plastic in various shapes. They spent the next twenty minutes arranging these into various patterns when the teacher announced that it was time to take their seats.

Toushiro and Momo grudgingly put away the plastic shapes and took their seats. They watched eachother throughout the entire lesson. When the bell rang they walked to lunch together. Halfway to lunch, Momo reached over and grabbed hold of Toushiro's hand. He looked at her in surprise, and she smiled shyly back. He smiled too, and they walked the rest of the way to lunch holding hands.

When they arrived at the cafeteria, Toushiro led Momo to his table, which was empty as Renji was still absent. They both took out their meals. Momo had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, as did Toushiro. Toushiro sighed as he looked at his sandwich. The jelly had soaked into the bread, just like always.

Momo turned to him, "What's wrong?" she asked.

"It's nothing," he muttered, "It's just that my sandwiches just always end up with the jelly soaking into the bread."

Momo paused for a second before tearing her sandwich in half, handing half of it to Toushiro. Toushiro was surprised by the action.

"It's okay, you don't need to give me yours," he said.

"I insist, I make really good PB&J, you'll like this a lot better," she said, still holding out the half sandwich. Toushiro took it and bit into it. To his surprise it tasted far to superior to his own. The jelly had not soaked in, and it also seemed tastier.

"Mmmm, this is really good, thank you," he said after the first bight. Momo smiled and gave him a small hug.

"I'm glad you like it. I divide the peanut butter in half and put it on both sides so that the jelly won't soak in. Also, I use currant jelly instead of strawberry or grape, it tastes much better that way."

"Yes, it certainly does," said Toushiro, taking another bite.

After they finished their lunch, they went out for recess. The sky was overcast, so Toushiro didn't have to worry about the hot sun. He was about to head over to his favorite tree, but Momo suddenly grabbed his arm and began pulling on him to follow her.

"Momo, where are you going?" Toushiro asked as Momo dragged him across the playground.

"There's something that I want to show you," she said, "I've never shown it to anyone before, but I want you to see it."

"What is it?" Toushiro asked.

"I can't tell you! It's a surprise!" Momo said. She continued to drag Toushiro behind her. They eventually left the playground and began walking into the forest behind the school. The trees were tall, scraggly pines and it was much darker here.

"Uh, Momo, are we allowed to go back here?" Toushiro asked apprehensively.

"Probably not," said Momo in an offhand manner, the smile still on her face despite the increasingly dark and foreboding surroundings. The possibility of getting in trouble didn't seem to faze her at all. After sometime of walking, she stopped and turned to him.

"We're here," she said quietly, pointing to a small gap in the side of a dead tree. Toushiro blinked in surprise. Inside were two mallard ducks; a male and a female, sitting huddled up in their little home. They looked up and the male duck hissed at Toushiro. He started to back away, but Momo stopped him.

"Don't mind him," she said, "He's just not used to you. I've been watching these two since last year. They met when they were young and the next spring had a bunch of baby ducks and raised them and loved them until eventually the babies grew up and left. They're still together though, and they still love eachother." Toushiro smiled at her. They watched the ducks for several minutes. Momo suddenly turned to Toushiro.

"Toushiro, lets be just like them when we're older," she said quietly, "Lets live together and have a bunch of babies and love them and raise them together. Then when they leave we'll still live together until we're old and gray haired."

Toushiro smiled, "I agree Momo. I love you and I want to spend my whole life with you."

Momo teared up as she smiled and gave him a huge hug. The hug was so tight that it made it difficult for him to breath, but he had never been happier before and he hugged Momo back. The ducks seemed to watch in amusement as the red faced boy smiled under the suffocating hug of the girl.

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Thanks for reading everyone! I forgot how much I enjoy writing this story. Most of the things in here actually happened to me and it is nice to remember them. Thank you to my reviewers, especially to Animeimaginationgirl. Please review!


	4. Chapter 4

I do not own Bleach

**I Like You**

Chapter 4

It had been nearly a month since Momo had first approached Toushiro, and already they were inseparable. They loved spending time together, and were both much happier than before. When Renji came back to school, he began to spend time with them as well, though he made sure that the two were able to spend time alone too.

Toushiro and Momo usually spent their time together alone in a quiet, secluded place. They didn't do much, but they greatly enjoyed eachother's company. When Renji was with them, they'd play on the climbing fort or play tag. Toushiro was much more sociable now than he was before meeting Momo, and there were several other kids he would occasionally play with now.

One day during lunch, Toushiro remembered that in a few days, the local zoo would be having an event called "The Great Zoo Boo" where the zoo would be Halloween themed. Toushiro asked Momo if she would like to go with him and she said yes. Renji would be coming too, although he usually just ate candy at these things, so Toushiro knew that he and Momo would be together most of the time.

Several days later, Toushiro and Momo were anxiously waiting in class for the bell to ring. Retsu would be picking up Momo, Toushiro, and Renji after school today to take them to the Zoo Boo. They had their costumes stored in their lockers and would be meeting in front of the school. When the bell finally rang, Toushiro and Momo ran out of class.

"I'll see you in a few minutes," Momo said with a smile, "I can't wait to show you my costume!"

"I'll see you there," Toushiro replied.

Toushiro walked over to the bathroom to change. He had a cool pirate costume that he was wearing for Halloween. It had a black, tattered looking vest that he put on over his shirt. He had a pirate's hat and a fake moustache. He couldn't wait to show Momo how cool his costume was. He walked outside to the front of the school to wait for Momo and Renji. After several minutes, Renji arrived.

"Hey Toushiro," Renji said. Toushiro turned to say hello to his friend, but his jaw dropped from what he saw. Renji was a pirate too! That wasn't fair! This was supposed to be his chance to impress Momo, it wouldn't seem as cool if Renji did the exact same thing.

"Renji!" Toushiro exclaimed, "I'm dressed like a pirate! Momo won't be impressed if you're a pirate too!"

"Relax, our costumes aren't even the same type of pirate costume." Renji said. It was true, Renji was an entirely different type of pirate. Instead of a vest, he wore a shirt with horizontal red and white stripes. Rather than a pirate hat, he wore a red bandanna on his head. He had an eyepatch, but not a moustache.

"I guess, but I still wish that you would have worn something else," Toushiro muttered.

"Relax, Momo will like you either way," Renji said. After a few minutes, Momo arrived.

"Hey guys!" Momo called, Toushiro's face lit up at the sound of her voice, "Oh, you guys dressed like pirates too!" Toushiro and Renji turned around to face Momo. Their jaws dropped.

Momo was a _real _pirate. She wore a big pirate's jacket that reached to her knees. She had a plastic sword at her side and she wore an eyepatch. And her hat…her hat dwarfed Toushiro's in comparison, and on top of that, had a big feather in it! They stared in amazement at her awesome costume.

"Wow Momo…you look great," Toushiro finally said. Momo smiled and hugged him.

"Thanks Toushiro, you look pretty cool yourself, you too Renji," She said.

"Thanks Momo," Toushiro said.

After a few minutes, Retsu drove up in the family mini-van. Karin was sitting in the back seat, wearing a pink fairy costume. Momo and Toushiro got into the middle seat and Renji reluctantly got into the back seat with Karin.

"Hello Toushiro, Renji. I believe that this is my first time meeting you, Momo. Awww, aren't you a cute little bunch of pirates?" Retsu said with a motherly smile.

"Retsu! We're not cute, we're a fearsome group of marauding pirates!" Toushiro said indignantly.

"Oh yes, of course you are, my mistake," Retsu said with a laugh. They began to drive towards the zoo. On the way, Renji had to endure Karin's prodding him with her fairy wand. He put up with it, knowing that Karin would throw a fit if he said anything.

Eventually, Karin got tired of bugging Renji, so she turned her attention to Toushiro.

"So Toushiro, is Momo your girlfriend?" She said. Toushiro blushed.

"Be quiet Karin," he said. Karin smiled wickedly.

"Ooooh, I bet she is! Toushiro and Momo sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Karin sang.

"Karin, shut up!" Toushiro said. Karin grabbed his hat.

"I got your hat Toushiro! I'm not giving it back until I see you give Momo a big smooch!" Karin said playfully.

"Karin!" Toushiro shouted, leaning over the back of the seat and trying to grab his hat back, "Give it back!"

"No! Smooch Momo first!" Karin said with a laugh, holding it just out of his reach. Momo giggled at the banter between the two siblings. Finally, after several minutes, Retsu decided to break it up.

"Okay, okay, break it up. Karin, give your brother his hat back. Toushiro, be nicer to your sister. We're almost there anyway." Karin grudgingly handed back the hat.

After several minutes, they arrived at the zoo grounds. Huge banners advertising the Zoo Boo were hung on the road through the forest that led to the parking lot. There were many cars, but it was not particularly busy compared to how it had been in previous years. Children wore all sorts of costumes. Retsu opened the door for the kids and helped them out. Karin put on a set of fairy wings. Retsu gave them each a bag to collect candy in.

They walked through the parking lot and into the main part of the zoo. The sides of the boardwalk had many jack-o-lanterns, their flickering flames illuminating faces, pictures, and even words that had been cut into the pumpkins. They paid their admission and went into the zoo. It was nearing winter, and most of the animals had been taken out of their regular exhibits, but there were still a few cool things. The snow leopards were still out, Momo loved how big and fluffy they were. The kangaroos were out too, although they seemed rather annoyed at all of the weird people staring at them.

They walked through the zoo, admiring the various decorations. There were numerous booths that gave out candy, or sometimes brochures for local businesses (what a rip-off!). Their bags were soon filled with candy. Toushiro and Momo sat down on a bench next the river that ran through the zoo. Retsu had taken Karin and Renji to get more candy, so Momo and Toushiro had this moment to themselves. This place was at the end of a short dirt trail that ran through the tall grasses along the shore of the river. Most people didn't even realize it was there. Momo and Toushiro had it all to themselves.

They watched as a pair of swans swam past them. They moved closer to eachother. The swans had their beaks right next to eachother, making it appear as if they were kissing. Momo saw this and seemed to get an idea. She grabbed Toushiro's hat off his head. Toushiro looked at her in surprise.

"Momo?" he said questioningly. She merely smiled at him warmly. "Um, can I have my hat back?"

"Not until you give me a smooch," Momo said, a mischievous sparkle in his eyes.

Toushiro blinked in surprise, but after a moment he smiled back at her and leaned forward. Momo leaned forward too. Their eyes closed as their lips touched in a moment of pure bliss.

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Thanks for reading everyone! I have to say, it was really fun to portray Karin as my bratty little sister. Thank you to ccccookie, Animeimaginationgirl, Merciless Ruby, shirochanxmomo1220, aprilsierra, IzumiHyuuga, and argella1300. Please Review everyone!


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